It's Friday. Phew. Take a breath. I love having a holiday in the middle of the week, but I'm not going to lie. It kinda' throws me off my rhythm a bit (as if I had any rhythm to begin with). Anyone else know what I mean? But alas, the weekend is here and so is this smoothie.

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

— Henry James

I've been craving a coffee smoothie lately, but so many of the recipes I've seen contain extra sugars or loads of dairy - both of which I love, but my body doesn't. This one is sweetened with dates and uses almond milk. To make it paleo, use almond butter instead of peanut butter, but there's something about the peanut butter flavor that just can't be beat. If you're not avoiding peanuts for dietary reasons, I highly suggest sticking with that creamy, peanut goodness.

For the coffee, cold brew iced coffee tastes best. I used FreshGround's ready-to-drink Black Ice Brew. If you use a cold brew concentrate, you may just need to add a little extra almond milk or water to the smoothie. It's a flexible recipe, though, so just taste as you go along!

What are you sipping this weekend? Any favorite summer beverages? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

Add the almond milk, coffee, bananas, peanut butter, 3 dates, and 1 cup of ice to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add another date if you want it to be sweeter and additional ice to taste. Less ice will give you a richer flavor but a thinner smoothie. More ice tones down the intensity and makes the smoothie thicker. (My personal preference is about 2 heaping cups of ice.)

*Your recipe is only as good as your ingredients, so use good quality coffee! I used FreshGround’s ready-to-drink Black Ice Brew. Cold brewed iced coffee is ideal in this recipe!